Turning Points: Thomas Riedel

Thomas Riedel sensed early on that he carried the entrepreneur gene. At school, he had to repeat classes and almost didn’t graduate, but in his own time he was industrious, organising parties for which he supplied and set up the equipment. “My school is the street,” he says. “You learn things by doing them.” 

The son of Wuppertal florists, Riedel was given a magic box at the age of 10 and credits this with producing his first “entrepreneurial thoughts”. To put on a proper show, “you need lights and speakers,” he points out. He did his first professional deal at 18, supplying radio equipment for an event in Wuppertal. “Suddenly, people from cities like Düsseldorf and Cologne called me,” he recalls.

Riedel Communications has since grown to over 1,000 employees, working from 40 locations around the world. It is an industry leader whose audio and video solutions are used at many of the world’s top sporting and entertainment events. For example, Riedel takes care of the connection between the referee and the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) at Bundesliga football matches, and between drivers and their control boxes at Formula 1 Grands Prix. Mega-star Taylor Swift also relied on Riedel technology during her now legendary "Eras" world tour in 2024.

How seizing sporting opportunities helped Riedel Communications to scale

It was a fax message that provided one of the earliest key turning points for the business. Sent to Riedel’s office at the end of 1993, it came from a company in Munich that was involved in the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer. There was a problem with the communication solutions for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games, due to take place in just a few months’ time. Could Riedel help?

Saying yes fired the starting gun for Riedel’s international business. It also brought valuable media attention: an interview with Riedel by Radio Wuppertal was heard by a Formula 1 manager driving along the motorway in North Rhine-Westphalia, who promptly got in touch and soon after became a client. 

What followed was a company history peppered with triumphs such as the opulent opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in Paris 2024, which set completely new standards for event communication technology. Such “giant leap” moments are an important inspiration for Riedel, who says he still feels overwhelmed today when he thinks about Felix Baumgartner’s parachute jump from the edge of space for Red Bull in 2012. "Everyone has seen it, and everyone remembers it to this day," he says, suggesting it is a testament to the courage of both the athlete and the company.

The power of partnerships in Riedel’s long-term entrepreneurship

Despite the dynamism of his business, Riedel is someone who values things that are long-term and down to earth. This may be why, in the 1990s, he decided to stay in Wuppertal instead of going to Berlin. He loves his city and runs a renowned techno club there – another venture that is successful enough to have an international profile.

At work, he is no longer just an entrepreneur but an investor in other ventures. For, example, in the Sail Grand Prix (SailGP) yacht-racing league, he co-owns the SailGP Germany team together with Formula 1 world champion Sebastian Vettel. Riedel Communications also supplies camera and radio technology for the whole league, making him both a supplier and an investor at the same time. “It’s exciting how this plays together,” he says.

At Riedel Communications, his role remains much simpler. He was, and remains, the sole owner. “I didn’t take any money from the company myself,” he says. “I just put it all in again and again.” A magic box, still looking for new ways to put on a great show…